Victory From God

Psalm 44:6-8
I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame. In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever.

We can never be reminded too often that victory is from God. Victory in every respect is from God. In the Old Testament, our examples are all-too-often ones of the nation Israel going to war against their enemies. But we need to remember that those were to serve as large, physical examples of the battles that each and every one of us fight almost daily.

We cannot trust in our own knowledge - we do not hold the answer within ourselves. The world does not have the answer either - Dr. Phil, Oprah, our friends and family, all those people out there who desire to help us get our lives right, do not have the answer - they cannot provide us true victory apart from Christ. Victory comes from God alone, whether we acknowledge it or not.

So let us boast in God all day long, that He would provide us victory in every area of our lives. If we have a pet sin that needs to be dashed - God can do it, and He wants to do it. If we have a stronghold that is getting the best of us, let God do His thing - His victory is sure! Draw close to God, and trust in Him completely. We need to let Him minister to us through prayer and fellowship with other believers. We need to get into the Word and let it permeate our every cell, that our lives would begin to show glorious victory in Christ.

Obedience To Christ

Hebrews 5:9
Once made perfect, he [Christ] became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

When we think of salvation we often think of a one-time decision that seals the deal, and all is said and done. While that is true, to an extent, salvation does not give us a free-for-all in life. I love this verse, because it reminds us that as believers in Christ, as His followers, we need to obey. Christ tells us in John 14:15, "If you love me, you will obey what I command."

Obedience can be a difficult topic, because really, we all fall short of perfect obedience in so many ways. The key is that we get up and try again, and again, and again. But we need to remember that obedience is part of the "deal." Now, it’s not a deal-breaker. There never comes a point where we have "out-sinned" our salvation - believe me, I’ve tried in so many ways. But when we come to believe in Christ, it is more than a mere intellectual ascent. When we truly come into a saving relationship with Christ, that relationship will create in us a desire to obey, and the Spirit will give us the ability to obey.

Many of us, when we accepted Christ and His sacrifice for us simply said, "Come into my life, so that I can go to heaven," or, "so that I don’t go to hell." Perhaps we took it a step farther and asked to be set free in some way. It was a simple belief and that was the extent of the transaction. But when we have truly bowed to Christ and His authority, the Spirit comes into our lives, and begins to grow and mature us. As we grow and mature, we begin to realize that our life in Christ is now, and we should be reflecting that. We should begin to see the fruit in our lives, and when we are disobeying and wandering off the path, we should feel some heavy pressure from the Holy Spirit.

When we bowed to Christ’s authority, we gave him our eternity, and along with it our deeds, our thoughts, our actions - our entire lives - everything about us now belongs to Him. And just as a parent can expect a child to obey, or a master can expect a servant to obey, so Christ expects us to obey. Not that we’ll be cut-off if we don’t, but if we truly love Him, and call ourselves His followers, than obedience should be more than just a long word.

Living Sacrifices

Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

It is so frustrating when we desire, more than anything, to be completely abandoned to Jesus, to consecrate ourselves to Him, and no other, and yet, as we walk through each day, we find that our minds wander to things other than Him. And while our thoughts may not be out-right "evil," they can draw us back to that worldly frame of mind we so desperately want to leave behind – especially when it comes to "stuff."

We, as American Christians, have a far more difficult time than so many other countries, when it comes to our stuff. We are taught all our lives that "bigger is better," and that quality of life is determined by what we have, how new it is, and how it compares to everybody else’s. It’s so easy for us to look at what others have, and just be completely overwhelmed by a feeling of covetousness, and a desire for what they have that we don’t. Then what happens? We begin to have the wrong focus, and we become blasé about our relationship with Christ - we do not see that our neediness needs to draw us to Him, not toward things. Or, we are far too content with life – what we have, where we are, etc. – and that makes us just sit back and become apathetic in our walk, because there is really nothing we need (or so we think). These are some of the dangers we face in a materialistic society - I know I fall into these traps far too often. Now, I’m not saying that we are not very lucky to live in such an amazing country – I am saying that because we are so blessed, we don’t depend on God as much. Sometimes a wasteland can be a blessing, because it forces us to cling to the hem of His robe, and it keeps us focused on eternity, rather than the here-and-now.

So, how can we guard against this, apart from moving into some third-world country? Well, once we’ve climbed onto the altar, we need to keep our focus on the One who has us in His grasp. What does verse 2 say? "Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." So instead of conforming to this world, and their thoughts on abundant life, and complete abandon, we must instead be transformed, changed, by the renewing of our minds. How? The Word of God.

We can have all the best wishes in the world, a strong will-power, and a firm goal, but until we allow our minds to be changed by the Word of God, we are going to keep slipping back into that same old rut that the world has dug out for us. Hebrews 4 tells us that the Word is living, active, breathing – it gets in us, and it takes over. But it can’t take over, until it’s taken in. And once it’s taken in and we get a taste of what God has to offer, we won’t care what the world has to offer, if it doesn’t include the richness of God. We will find ourselves clinging to Him – not because we are in a desperate situation, but because we are desperate for Him.

So go, drink in the Word today, and let God begin to change you from the inside out. Let Him change your focus, your priorities, your desires and dreams, your life, and let the adventure begin!
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Further Reading - Hebrews 4 - http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?passage=HEB+4&language=english&version=NIV&showfn=on&showxref=on.

God's Constant Presence

Psalm 92:1-2
It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night.

Oh that we could be like David and think always upon the precepts of God. That we would spend each moment of the day, regardless of what we are doing, engaged in conversation with the Most High – meditating on His truths, His love, His power, His deeds, His glory. "Practicing the presence of God," as Brother Lawrence called it, is indeed a practice. Until it becomes a habit, and even after, we must practice it – over and over and over – we must think upon God at all times, and when our minds drift, we need to redirect our thoughts back to Him.

However, I believe it is a step-by-step process by which we eventually come to a place where we are consciously aware of God’s presence at every moment of every day. How do we begin? Well, I think that word – begin – holds a key. We must begin our day with Him. If we can start our day with Him, in passionate praise, proclaiming His great love and glory, I believe that will set the tone for the rest of the day. Once we start doing it, and making it a habit, we will see a significant change – one we’ll really notice on the days we step out of bed and begin to walk through the day without even a nod in His direction.

I cannot conceive of a better way to end the day, than to reflect upon His faithfulness. To consider all the ways He romanced us that day, all the ways He blessed us, and showered His love upon us. We must even consider the ways He disciplined us, and gently corrected us, bringing us back to an awareness of Him. He is so faithful, so much more than we will ever comprehend!

To live each day with our eyes fixed upon Him should be the goal of us all – to passionately pursue Him in every area, with every aspect of our lives. Looking neither left, nor right, we simply gaze upon His great love, compassion, grace, and glory, and take one step at a time in the fresh footprints He has left as a guide. Now, that would be the glorious life, wouldn’t it? The life at peace, knowing the Savior has walked the road before us, and is, even now, holding us by the hand.

So, let us each take a moment and proclaim His love this morning, proclaim His love and kindness, His grace and mercy. And as we climb in bed tonight, let us each reflect on the ways He displayed His love, kindness, grace, and mercy to us throughout our day.
Pursue Him today. Pursue Him with every ounce of passion pulsing through your veins!

Oxen of Christ

Proverbs 14:4
Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest.

When I read this verse I can’t help but think about Matthew 9:37 when Jesus tells us that "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few." We are those workers that God is calling to help bring in the harvest - those who are ripe to accept Christ. We are the oxen.

The oxen however won’t do any good, unless they let their master tell them where to go and how to work. The oxen know this by the yoke they wear, through which they are told to go left or right, to stop or to go. Christ tells us in the Word to "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." We are to let Christ master us, and tell us where to go - He wants to put His yoke on us. Now, that may sound a little scary, and may cause us to wonder what that would be like, but Matthew tells us that He is "gentle and humble in heart," and that when we let Him put His yoke on us we "will find rest for [our] souls." Doesn’t that sound wonderful? We don’t tend to want to be yoked to anyone, when in fact when we are yoked to Christ, we will be in a better situation than if we weren’t.

If only every Christian out there was willing to let the Master put His yoke on them! We would have more than enough oxen to bring in the harvest. And as a result of the harvest, we would have even more oxen! Wouldn’t that be so awesome? Let’s start with us - won’t you join me in putting on Christ’s yoke? If we let Him tell us where to go and how to get there, our life will be better, and we won’t have to worry about bringing in the harvest ourselves, because we will simply be Christ’s oxen. It is His work to do, He just needs the oxen.

Encourage One Another

Hebrews 3:13
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

We all need encouragement. No matter what the situation is, no matter what it is we seek to do or accomplish, encouragement goes a long way in helping us to endure and keep on. It is so easy to lose heart and just give up when there is no encouragement. We begin to feel as though no one is paying attention, and no one cares. The same holds true in our Christian walk - we need to have people in our life that encourage us, that keep us going forward, that remind us that the walk is possible, and that it is worth it.

I wonder how many Christians are out there thinking they can do this on their own. I’ve been there, and while it may work for a while, it’s too easy to fall away and just start going with the flow of the rest of the world. The Christian walk is not for the faint of heart. As Paul says, we need encouragement so that we don’t find ourselves hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We need to have those people in our lives that will challenge us, keep us accountable (as difficult as that can be), give us a pat on the back when we do well, and help us get back on track when we fall. We cannot do this alone - we were not meant to. God designed us to be in community for a reason.

These relationships, however, are not to be one-way. We need to be encouraging those around us, helping them to press on toward the prize, and showing them, by example, that the Christian walk is not only possible, it is joyful, awesome, fun, and worth it. They need us, just like we need them.

My point is this: each and every one of us, as Christians, need to be in a community of believers where we are finding encouragement, and are able to encourage. Whether in a church, or small group, or Bible study, we need to be in the Word, and we need to have those around us who are also in the Word. Like I said before, we can’t do this alone, so let’s stop trying.

Possessions of Christ

Ephesians 1:13-14
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.

It is of great value, in our society, to possess. To possess something of great worth and value – the bigger and more expensive, the better, it seems. But turn the tables and have us being possessed by someone or something else, and suddenly we come to a screeching halt. We will be possessed by no one! We are free, free to go and do as we please! To have someone possess us is to have someone who dictates our every move, and that’s not freedom.

Yet, God’s Word tells us that we are His possessions. Each and every one of us belongs to God – we have the Holy Spirit in us, we have been marked as His! The Word also tells us that Christ came that we would be free. They don’t quite seem to go together do they? I think the problem lies in our definition of "freedom." So often we see freedom as the ability to do whatever we want, especially as Americans. We have been so ingrained with our rights, our freedoms – freedom of speech, to say whatever we want; freedom of religion, to worship however/whomever we want; etc. However, that is not freedom, at least, not as God sees it.

Christ came to offer us not freedom to do something, but freedom from something. He offers us freedom from all of the bondage and junk that weighs us down in life. Freedom from addiction, from vanity, from greed, from guilt, from worry and fear, from hatred and anger – freedom from life’s blackness, to live under Him.

The flip side, of course, is that we belong to Him, and as His possessions, He has the right to tell us what to do and what not to do, where to go and where not to go. Here is where so many people get so offended and begin to back away, saying "I didn’t sign up for this! I just wanted to go to heaven!" But what we so often fail to realize is that God isn’t trying to be a spoil-sport. It’s not like He’s this big, mean parent in the sky Who’s just trying to ruin all our fun. On the contrary – He has set up these rules and guidelines, because He can see the big picture. He understands that when we begin to live outside His guidelines, we will become ensnared and trapped, chained to the very things Christ’s blood set us free from. He knows that they lead down a road of destruction, and He knows that the only way to truly live free is to live in Him.

Now, you might think, "How is my deciding what I’m going to wear today, or eat today, or whatever, going to affect my freedom in Christ?" Honestly, I think it comes down to simply listening to Him. We must train our ears to hear His voice, and learn the discipline of doing what He says. If we stop listening and obeying in the little things, then we will stop listening on bigger things, and even bigger things, until we are walking so far from Him we don’t know which way to turn. We must look to Him in all things, big or small, and let Him rule in our lives completely – that is the key to true freedom, and true peace.